Bonds Beyond Brotherhood
by FallenOne2010
Summary: With his relationship with Amanda collapsing before his eyes, Kyle finds his attractions taking him down a different path. When his "soulmate" is revealed, how will Kyle deal with the inevitable repercussions? *SLASH* Chapter 2 up!
1. Breath of Air

Bonds Beyond Brotherhood

An AU world of Kyle XY in which Jessi and Sarah really did leave, and Kyle was able to pull of his escape and save Amanda single-handedly. Jessi will not be returning, but will rather choose to remain with her mother, and it is implied that the family occasionally hears from her. This is a Kyle/Josh slash fiction, but it won't be one of those "rush straight to the hot, steamy sex without setting things up sufficiently first" kinds of stories. Besides the issue of Jessi, I will be attempting to stick to canon as much as possible. If you don't like slash, or think it's wrong to pair Kyle and Josh, then either get over yourself or quit reading right now. It's really just that simple. Don't bother flaming me with hate-mail, I won't waste the time or energy to read your nonsense, so just leave. Your derision and contempt won't at all deter me from writing about a pairing that I believe is sorely in need of better representation than the rushed, under-developed crap that has been its only depiction in the past. This is one of those situations where all I have to say is that I'm not only one thinking about this pairing, I'm just one of the few with the brass balls to say it. To all others, constructive criticism would be MUCH appreciated and enjoy! As a side not, there most likely won't be any real slash (a.k.a sex) just yet, so if don't get your panties in a knot just yet.

As a further side note, I do not own ANY of the Kyle XY universe or characters, and I do not have any intention of trying to make money off of this story.

"speech"

_thoughts  
_

* * *

It had all gone so wrong, and Josh didn't know how to even begin to try to fix things…

Josh Trager stood leaning on the railing of the boat, lost in his thoughts and doubts. Josh had long possessed the belief that his life, both in terms of his own individual life and that of his family life, was an unshakeable constant that would always be the same. His mother, Nicole, and his father, Stephen, had argued plenty of times in the past, but had always patched things up and returned to normal. His sister, Lori, for all of her drama with her ex-boyfriend, Declan, and her best friend, Hillary, always seemed to somehow manage to eventually fix things whenever the drama got out of hand, one way or another. And even Kyle, with his status as a "tube-born" teen and inexperience with a great deal of the world at large, was still able to hold things together and keep his cool.

Josh, on the other hand, was currently drifting up the proverbial "shit creek", and had LONG since lost his paddle. It had all began with the infamous prom night, and had spiraled downward ever since. He had wanted for so long to finally claim his "masculinity" and join the proud ranks of men who have had sex before, and the night following prom had finally granted him that chance. But it had since proven that it had not been anywhere near worth the price that he now paid. His father had warned him about sex being a "life-altering" experience, and, at first, Josh had heeded the warning signs. But, in the end, that "perfect moment" had reared it ugly head, and Josh's life had indeed been altered; but it had changed for the worse.

After that night, things between Josh and Andy just hadn't been the same. Andy was a great girl, and had made Josh truly happy…at least at first. But things had begun decline even before prom, with Andy's determination not to let their relationship go too far on the grounds of her cancer, and the after-prom sexual encounter had only served as the nail in the coffin. The couple, previously so close, had slowly grown distant, and Josh had begun to feel that even the connection between them, the spark that had drawn them both into this relationship so long ago, was dwindling, and would soon fade completely. Josh just didn't feel the same draw towards Andy anymore, and his gut instincts were telling him that there were storm clouds brewing on the horizon, and that his relationship with Andy was nearing its completion. Was he the only one who couldn't seem to keep his life together?

No…

It wasn't exactly fair to go that far. After all, Kyle had been having equally as troublesome issues with Amanda of late. After the events surrounding Amanda's kidnapping and Kyle's narrow escape on prom night, things between Amanda and Kyle had begun to fall apart as well. Kyle had gotten protective of Amanda, but she hadn't reacted well to him constantly shadowing her. They had had a falling out concerning it, and now Kyle was stuck at home, paranoid after having heard some warning from a fortune teller. Kyle had been practically frantic after he heard the "prophecy" that the woman, who was probably a fraud in Josh's opinion, had told him, and had retold the Josh and Declan. Declan had scoffed at the idea of some carnival gypsy's "fortune crap" setting Kyle so on edge, and had simply advised Kyle not to stress over it and to just keep an eye on Amanda if he was so worried.

The part about a white rabbit swimming sounded ridiculous to Josh, but the portion of the "prophecy" concerning Kyle's soul mate being endangered seemed to have really set him on edge. And to be honest, even Josh was a little nervous. The idea of a soul mate was usually a concept reserved for use in fiction novels and love stories, but strangely enough, it didn't seem entirely unlikely in this case. After all, this was Kyle that they were talking about, and with him, anything seemed possible these days. He really was a one-of-a-kind sort of guy, being a human test tube baby and all, and was quite possibly the coolest brother Josh could have ever hoped for.

His thoughts fixed on Kyle momentarily, Josh felt an odd tremor run through his body; almost shiver, as if his body was anxious about something. The closest thing he could think of to compare it to would be when he sometimes got "butterflies" in his stomach. But that wouldn't make any sense now; after all, he had only been thinking about Kyle, and there would be no reason for him to get a reaction like that from thinking about his brother…Or, well, foster-brother to be more accurate.

Josh shook his head to clear his mind, and brought his thoughts back to the present. Lori and Hillary had both gone out to the street carnival with Amanda to help Amanda get her mind off of Kyle, and so Kyle, in his persistence to protect Amanda, had practically begged Josh to go with the girls. Josh, though not at ALL interested in wasting his night following the girls around, felt that, if nothing else, this excursion with the girls would be a chance to clear his mind as well. As it turned out, Lori and Hillary apparently couldn't resist the chance to have at one another, and the resulting "syrup fight", though amusing, had resulted in only Josh and Amanda actually boarding the boat. And so, here he was, stuck on a boat with a bunch of over-excited teens and young adults, listening to a band play what was, in his opinion, some of the worst rock music ever.

_Could things possibly get ANY lamer?_

Josh was soon to learn that to tempt the Fates was folly indeed…

* * *

Kyle Trager was in deep trouble.

He was in a hurry to catch up to Amanda and to try and find a way onto the boat, but the mass of people in the streets made maneuvering difficult, and he began to worry that he would not be able to get to the boat in time. He had passed by Hillary and Lori a few moments ago, both drenched in the syrup from the snow cone stand, and the knowledge that Amanda had only Josh's single set of eyes watching out for her had only increased his panic.

He feared for Amanda's safety, but at the same time, he couldn't help but wonder why it was that he still felt such a strong obligation to help her, when most human males his age would have given up on her and all the stress that their relationship seemed to entail these days. Of late, he and Amanda had begun to drift apart, and the siren-like sway that she always seemed to inadvertently hold over him had faded. He could still sense her moods and hear her heartbeat like before, but the draw he had once felt towards her had weakened significantly in recent weeks. She seemed to resent his protectiveness, and pushed him farther away with each passing day and it hurt him each time she did so, though not nearly so much now as it had initially. At first, Kyle had feared that his heart would well and truly shatter from the hurt he felt at her rejections; but now, when faced with the cold shoulder she seemed to constantly presenting him, Kyle's "suffering" had slowly faded, and a jaded sense of indifference had begun to replace it.

Josh, sensing his foster-brother's pain and internal struggles, had stood unwaveringly at Kyle's side, the same way that he had defended Kyle when the rest of the family had started putting the pieces together after Kyle and Jessi had gone off on their adventure, back before Kyle had returned and explained everything to them. Josh, with the occasional help from Declan, had worked hard to keep Kyle's mind off of his falling-out with Amanda, and Kyle was unbelievably grateful for it. In these past few weeks, Kyle's brotherly bond with Josh had grown exponentially, and even though they had been relatively close before, they were practically inseparable now. Sure, they still had their fights and differences like any other set of brothers, but they always managed to mend he rifts and pick up right where they had left off. Josh always seemed to be able to sense Kyle's mood, and seemed to always know the right thing to say to bring Kyle out of his "funks", as Josh had taken to calling them.

In fact, now that he thought of it, Kyle really did consider Josh to be the brother that he had never had, and talked to Josh about personal matters even more than he did Nicole. Josh was always a willing ear, even if he was prone to make the occasional joke or snarky comment, and Kyle had come to rely on Josh for support lately. Josh had slowly slid into the role that Declan usually filled, which was that of Kyle advisor, helper, and confidant. He honestly couldn't imagine how he would have gotten through the last few weeks without Josh.

Kyle shook his head to clear away the thoughts that were filling his mind. Of late, he found himself increasingly distracted whenever he thought about Josh, and his body reacted strangely as well. His heart-rate would accelerate, and his palms would get slightly sweaty. The reactions were somewhat similar in nature to the biological reactions he had once felt so strongly for Amanda. Things were changing now, however, and Kyle no long felt the draw towards Amanda that he was now beginning to feel for Josh. What could it all mean? Life as a member of the Trager family, and his life in general, had been exceedingly confusing, and this new series of events in the past few weeks had only served to further complicate Kyle's life.

As Kyle stood at the railing on the edge of the river, head swimming in a myriad of thoughts, he heard an odd crackling sound in the distance, magnified by his superior hearing, followed by a crashing sound and screams. Kyle looked up quickly, and saw that part of the lighting scaffolding on the boat was rapidly collapsing, and the screams were coming from the people near it on the deck. Then, to his horror, he saw a single person, standing by the railing at the rear of the ship, and their position lay directly in the path of the falling scaffolding…

_Amanda!_

* * *

Amanda stood near the stage, trying her hardest to enjoy the concert in spite of all that had been going through her mind lately. Her troubles with Kyle lately had put her on edge, and the growing distance between them was cause for great distress lately. She could feel the connection between her and Kyle dimming, and the worst part was, she couldn't even find it in herself to feel as depressed about it as she should. Kyle had kept too many secrets from her lately, and the weight of all that went unsaid between them had truly begun to weigh down on her. This…thing…with Kyle, it had been a bumpy ride that held uncertain promises. What had begun as a typical school-girl crush had evolved into something more, something deeper, something…real. But now, things were changing again, and not for the better. The dream was starting to fade, and the naivety with which she had so firmly believed in their relationship in the past was being to collapse.

Amanda scanned the crowd, eyes wandering haphazardly over her fellow concert-goers, until suddenly her eyes fixed on a familiar face.

_Josh?..._

Amanda felt a sense of indignant anger and annoyance rise in her. Did Kyle really have this great a lack of faith in her ability to look after herself? He couldn't trust her with his secrets, he didn't trust her to even hear all of whatever it was that the charlatan of a fortune teller had told him, and now he didn't even trust her to care for herself? Had this lack of trust between gone so far that he was willing to con his own brother into spying on her?

Huffing in exasperation and anger, Amanda had just begun making her way towards Josh to give him a piece of her mind, when suddenly she heard an odd sound. There was a loud crashing sound, and then a great deal of screaming. Amanda spun on her heels, and turned to face the source of the screams. In front of her, Amanda could see the scaffolding of the lighting system for the concert as it collapsed…and suddenly regretted not allowing Kyle to come with her…

* * *

Still lost in thoughts of Kyle and the crappiness of his current situation, Josh heard loud sound behind him that was out of place with the band's music. The biggest cue that things were not well aboard the ship was the sudden rise in screaming; screams that were unrelated to the usual roar of concert-crowd sing-along. He turned quickly, and found himself in imminent danger of a face-to-face with the oncoming scaffolding as it fell towards him.

_Oh…CRAP…  
_

_

* * *

_

Kyle watched in what seemed to be slow motion as the scaffolding crash down next to Amanda, the resulting force propelling her over the railing and into the river. His instincts kicked in, and he dove over the railing he had been leaning on, plunging into the water and swimming faster than he had ever swam before. He reached the site of Amanda's fall quickly and, after taking a deep breath, dove underwater to seek her. After a few minutes, he spotted her drifting towards the river bottom about fifteen feet away from Kyle. He rocketed towards the rapidly sinking body, and after securing a firm grasp around the slim waist, he rose quickly to the surface. Kyle broke through the surface of the water with a gasp, and began paddling as fast as he could towards the shore, slightly impeded by the extra weight he was dragging. Upon reaching the shore, he quickly pulled Amanda up onto the shore and reached out to move her hair out of her face…

…Only to find himself with a handful of short, spiky brown hair.

Kyle's mouth dropped open in shock as he gazed downwards, seeing not Amanda beneath him…but Josh! Unable to comprehend what was going on, but recognizing Josh's need for resuscitation, Kyle quickly leaned down, placing his mouth over Josh's, and beginning to try and feed air into Josh's lungs.

* * *

Josh opened his eyes, feeling dazed and confused, and unsure of what was going on. The last thing he remembered was seeing the scaffolding headed for him, and now…

Josh looked around, finding himself surrounded by an impenetrable fog that obscured everything around his. Josh wandered around, trying to get a sense of his bearings, but couldn't seem to find anything.

"Hello?" Josh called, hoping to hear an answer, but not really expecting one. He called a few more times, but all that he heard in return was the echoing of his voice as is travelled through the fog. Suddenly, Josh heard footsteps behind him, and turning quickly, Josh saw a vague shape in the fog moving towards him. He took a few steps back in fear, but stopped suddenly when he realized who it was…It was Kyle…

"Kyle, what the hell is going on? Is this another one of your weird powers, 'cuz if it is, it's not cool, man."

Kyle didn't answer, however, and simply continued walking towards Josh. His body moved with a fluid grace, and his eyes a strange glint to them that was predatory…but also entrancing.

"Kyle?...Serious, dude, what the hell is going on here? Where is everyone? What happened to Ama-…"

Josh was abruptly cut off as Kyle, who had closed the distance between them quickly, placed a single finger on Josh's lips, silencing him. The look in his eyes changed unexpectedly, the gaze locking onto Josh's eyes, and Josh found himself unable to look away. Kyle suddenly raised his right hand and placed it on Josh's chest, right above his heart. Kyle's other hand grasped Josh's right hand, raising it and also placing it over Kyle's heart. Josh was nervous, uncertain of just what was going on, but was at the same time excited, his breath become shallow and rapid and his heart beat starting to race.

Kyle's left hand moved up to Josh's head, and Kyle ran his hand through Josh's hair, coming to rest on the back of his neck. Kyle's right hand drifted down to Josh's left side, slowly pulling Josh inexorably closer as Josh's hand remained over Kyle's heart. Soon their chests were touching, and Josh found himself becoming increasingly excited by the feeling of Kyle's hands on him, both comforting him and making him feel safer than he had ever felt before. Kyle's stared intensely into Josh's eyes and his face drifted closer to Josh's, and when their faces were mere inches from one another, Kyle paused and opened his mouth, uttering a single word.

"Mine."

Then, so slowly that Josh felt that it took hours, Kyle lowered his mouth to Josh's…and kissed him.

Josh was so stunned at first that he could not even begin to react, only able to shudder as fireworks seemed to explode behind his eyes and throughout his body. After a few seconds, Josh recovered, and actually found himself, much to his own great surprise, leaning into the kiss. The kiss lasted a few seconds before Josh decided to take a leap of faith, and felt his tongue slip out and seek entrance into Kyle's mouth. As Kyle parted his lips to allow entrance, the light around Kyle and Josh grew blindingly bright, and Josh felt everything fading away again…

* * *

Kyle worked furiously on Josh's chest, desperate to save the life of the cherished foster brother. After compressing Josh's chest for what he calculated to be sixteen and a half seconds without any signs of improvement from Josh, Kyle leaned back down towards Josh's mouth, placing a hand on Josh's chest above his heart to steady himself as his sealed his mouth with Josh's. However, just as their lips met, he felt Josh's lips rise to meet his, turning the intended life-saving measure into a full-blown kiss.

Kyle froze in shock, feeling a current of sensation that he could only describe as electricity run through his body in that single instant. His mouth unconsciously parted in shock, and he felt Josh's tongue slip between his lips and into his mouth. Kyle felt his eyes widen even more in shock as he suddenly found himself being made out with. Kyle found himself unable to move, sheer shock at his brother's actions immobilizing him. Then, to his own overwhelming surprise, Kyle found his body unconsciously responding, and without even realizing, let alone understanding, what he was doing, Kyle leaned back into Josh as well, his own tongue darting out to tangle with Josh's. The passion in the kiss was enough to make Kyle's head spin, and he found himself sinking into a tide of sensations that he had never felt before. The feelings in his body were greater than anything he had felt when he and Amanda had kissed, and his body practically vibrated from the sensations he was feeling.

Suddenly, a wave of awareness crashed down over him, and Kyle and Josh's eyes simultaneously shot open, their tongues and lips freezing as the realization of what had happened slamming into their minds. Kyle sat up sharply, his eyes casting around to see if anyone had seen what had happened, as Josh propped himself up and did the same. Luckily, everyone that had been running towards them was still far enough away to be oblivious to what had truly occurred. Kyle turned his head back towards Josh, their eyes locking. They both stared at one another in unfettered shock; before Josh opened his mouth and summed up the events of the past ten minutes in a single word:

"Crap…"

***So what do you guys think? Bear in mind that this is my first time writing a fanfiction, so I'm no pro just yet. Please drop me some criticism, so long as it is CONSTRUCTIVE in nature; and those of you who plan on flaming me, read my note that I placed before the story and then kindly get lost.***


	2. Mistakes

Mistakes

It had been almost a week since the near-drowning of Josh Trager, and Kyle's head still hadn't stopped spinning. Back when Kyle had first moved in with the Trager's, he had found himself unable to sleep at nights because his mind was always swimming with thoughts and ideas; only the discovery of the radio's soothing "white noise", as Josh had called it, and the feeling of security provided by the bath tub had allowed him to finally find enough calm to sleep. However, since the incident with Josh, Kyle had felt like his old self again: confused, scared, and unable to sleep, once again, because of his mind's inability to let go of what had happened.

After Josh's near-death experience, the Tragers had been phoned by the police, informing them of what had happened and which hospital Josh was been kept overnight at. Of course, Nicole and Stephen had rushed themselves to the hospital as quickly as the speed limits would allow, and sometimes not even restraining themselves that much. Upon arriving, they had first checked on Josh, with a great deal of hugs and tears, mostly from Nicole. However, following learning of Kyle's role in the incident, Nicole had practically thrown herself on Kyle in gratitude, hugging him until he was sure he had sustained some sort of injury to his chest, and pouring out her thanks to him over and over again. Stephen, possessing far more self-control, had shaken Kyle's hand and thanked him with more sincerity than Kyle had ever heard from a human being before; such was the conviction in the Trager's gratitude towards Kyle, that he found himself rather overwhelmed by the outpouring of feelings in his direction. However, in spite of the warmth he felt inside from the Trager's love, he couldn't help feeling slightly guilty, as no one had informed the Trager's of what had transpired between him and Josh following Josh's resuscitation. The guilt had only grown as the days had passed, and Kyle was beginning to think that his heart would erupt from the stress he was feeling lately.

Josh certainly wasn't helping the situation either, however. He had been avoiding Kyle of late, and never allowed himself to be left in a room alone with Kyle. The looks that he shot Kyle occasionally were also very mixed in terms of the emotions they depicted, but most of the time it was a mixture of fear…and longing. Kyle had tried more than once to approach Josh and talk with him reasonably about what had happened, but Josh always seemed to have an excuse for not being able to spare the time.

Kyle sighed, rolling over in his tub and looking at his clock.

1:57 am.

Kyle groaned, knowing that tomorrow would be a long day, what with this mess with Josh combined with sleep-deprivation. Kyle desperately wanted to talk to Nicole about this mess he had gotten himself into, but something in Kyle's instinctual side of his mind was practically screaming caution, and somehow he knew that to approach Nicole with this would yield even further drama.

Resigning himself to a night without rest, Kyle got up from his bed, pulling on a shirt that he had left hanging over the back of his chair as he walked towards his door. Perhaps Amanda would still be up…

* * *

Josh was one screwed little boy, and he damn well knew it.

Josh lay awake in his bed, having spent the last two hours tossing and turning. Thank God it was Sunday tomorrow, or Josh would have been _really_ screwed in class; being exhausted would definitely not help his grades, and they were plummeting on their own just fine without any outside help. Josh's grades had never been exactly stunning to begin with, but now they were sinking even further, and Josh couldn't figure out why. To be fair, Josh usually had trouble staying on task and focused when it came to serious matters, such as schoolwork, but nowadays he felt as if his distraction had expanded to cover just about everything in his life.

And the source of this damned distraction? None other than his own _brother_, Kyle. Josh had really screwed the pooch on this one, and he knew it better than most. Josh had been terrified at first that Kyle, in all his usual bumbling naivety, would tell his parents about the kiss, and had only really begun to breathe fully again once he realized that not even Kyle was _that_ stupid. But, even though the incident of the kiss had remained on the down-low, Josh's head was still spinning from what had happened. Honestly, what had provoked him to kiss his own broth-…well, foster brother. Either way, it was still one of those big "no-no's" in society these days, and if word got out about what had happened, Josh knew that all hell would break loose.

Sighing at the seeming hopelessness of his situation, Josh decided to distract himself with a webcam call to Andy. Andy had bought a webcam in preparation for her and her mothers' inevitable departure, in the hopes that she and Josh would still be able to talk and keep in touch while she was gone, and they had also proven handy for late-night chats, since his parents couldn't track the webcam use like they could his phone bill. Josh had even recently conned his parents into buying a relatively inexpensive laptop, under the pretense of using it to do schoolwork. They had slightly curbed his ability to abuse it, however, as the laptop, while great for word-processing and surfing the internet, had no video card; as such, Josh was unable to use it for any sort of gaming, a fact which he had bemoaned for a few days after getting the laptop. But after a few days of chatting with Andy at night and using the internet to aid in some of his…late night activities, Josh had moved on. However, he and Andy hadn't talked much of late, and indeed, a sizeable amount of friction had started to cause issues for the usually easy-going couple. Things had felt different between them since prom night, but ever since the night of Josh's near-drowning, she had suddenly gotten incredibly distant in a very short span of time, and Josh was at a loss.

Sitting in front his laptop, Josh brought up his Skype program and, after waiting a few seconds, saw that Andy was indeed online. He clicked on her name, initiating a voice call, and sat back to wait. After about ten seconds or so, Andy finally answered his call, much to his excitement. Josh scrambled across desk, grabbing his headset and plugging it in before his parents heard the noise of the call. Andy's video feed soon appeared, and, to Josh's disappointment, she did not look as excited to see him as he felt.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Andy. What are you doing up so late?" Josh asked hesitantly, suddenly afraid of why it was that she wasn't happy to see him.

"I could ask you the same thing, you know? Anyways, I'm just working on some homework due on Monday. Big paper, kinda important."

Josh chuckled sympathetically. "Sorry we haven't spoken in so long; it's been hell here. My mom's been like a hawk over my shoulder, making sure I don't get into any trouble again. God, you'd think she was expecting me to just randomly get knocked into another river again, ha ha."

"Well, I'm sure if you fell again, Kyle would be there to be your knight in shining armor." Andy replied, her expression souring at the mention of Kyle.

"What are you talking about? I mean, sure, Kyle saved me and all, I suppose, but why the long face about it?"

Andy hesitated, biting her lip and obviously holding back a retort. "I…nothing, never mind, don't worry about it. Look, I gotta go, I have to finish this pape-…"

"Wait! Andy, hold on." Josh said quickly, cutting her off before she could end the call. "What's been going on with us, with you, lately? I never see you hardly, and you never call or even answer my calls. I mean, even when you do answer them, you always have some excuse or another why you can't hang out with me. What the hell's up? Did I do something wrong and just don't know it?"

Andy faltered again, and the pause this time seemed to drag on forever.

"I…Josh, look…I just think…Crap, I don't know, man. Look, don't worry about it, alright? You'll probably be happier that way, anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean? Andy, come on, talk to me…Christ, I care about you and to see you all upset like this sucks, man. Isn't this what boyfriends are supposed to do, care about their girlfriends and be there for them to vent on when they're pissed about something?" Josh asked exasperatedly.

Andy looked angry at this, and he eyes narrowed into a semi-glare.

"Care about me, do you? Well, it's good to know you're thinking about me _now_. Were you thinking about me when Kyle saved you?"

"…What are we talking about here?" Josh asked, his breath catching in his throat and his mind refusing to accept what he knew was coming next. It couldn't be…she couldn't have…

Andy took a deep, calming breath, and stared Josh directly in the eyes.

"Josh, dude…I saw you."

* * *

Kyle had been lobbing tiny pebbles at Amanda's window for the better part of twenty minutes, and had been met with no success. He desperately wanted to talk to her; to figure out where thing had gone so abysmally wrong, and to try and fix things before the situation spun too wildly out of control. However, it seemed tonight was just not his night, and with a sigh of resignation, he turned to leave.

"Kyle?"

At the sound of Amanda's voice, Kyle spun around so fast that he nearly tripped over his own feet.

"Amanda!"

"What do you want, Kyle?" Amanda asked, her voice heavy and resigned.

Kyle faltered here, unsure of what to say. "I…I wanted to talk to you, Amanda."

"What about?"

"About…" Kyle hesitated again, trying to think of how best to phrase the maelstrom of thoughts in his mind. "About…us. I'm lost, Amanda; I know I obviously did something wrong, but I don't know what. I don't know how to fix it…"

Amanda bit her lip, obviously needing a moment to compose her thoughts as well.

"I'm…I'm not sure that there's much left to fix, Kyle. I mean, a relationship is supposed to be built on trust; but how can I trust you when there's so much you won't tell me?"

"I want to be able to tell you everything, Amanda, but…it's…it's just not that easy."

"Why, Kyle? How much simpler can it get than the fact that I'm your girlfriend and that I have the right to at the very least not be lied to, if not told everything."

"It's…complicated, Amanda. There are some things that even I still don't entirely understand. How can I tell you everything about me when I don't even know it all? There's some things about me that you just wouldn't be able to understand, Amanda, and-…"

"How can I understand if you won't even give me the chance to TRY and understand, Kyle!?! This is what I'm talking about! You don't trust me to look after myself, so you set your own _brother_ on my case, and now you don't even trust me to be able to accept everything about you! I told you I loved you Kyle, and when someone loves another person, they don't get to pick and choose what they want to accept about that person. They have to be willing to accept the fact that there will probably be some things that they won't like; but that's part of relationships, Kyle, and being able to move past those things is what matters. If you won't give me the chance to do that, then what chance do we have, Kyle?"

"Amanda, I…What-"

Amanda shook her head forcefully, her tear-filled eyes beginning to overflow.

"_No_, Kyle. I…I can't do this anymore. All the lies and the tension and…I'm sorry, Kyle. It's over."

Kyle shook his head slowly in disbelief, refusing to accept that things had come crashing down so quickly. This couldn't be how things we going to end, could it?

"Wait, Amanda! Why…But-…We can fix things, you just have to tell me wha-"

"No, Kyle…Look, I'm sorry. I really thought I would be okay, and that I could just learn to accept that there would be things about you that I would never know, but I can't. I…I just can't. I wish things didn't have to end like this, Kyle, I really do. But I just can't stand this anymore. I'm sorry Kyle. Goodbye…"

Amanda backed away from the window, trails of tears running down her cheeks, and shut her window. Kyle got once last glimpse of her grief-stricken face before she pulled the blinds shut, and Kyle felt his heart fall with the blinds.

Stumbling as though stuck, Kyle staggered away from Amanda's house, his heart wrenching with loss. He couldn't seem to wrap around the fact that he had truly lost Amanda, and this time…she wasn't coming back.

*Sorry it's taken so long to publish this and that it's kind of short this time, guys. I wrote and re-wrote this part sooo many times trying not to make it seem like I was rushing things. I'm not 100% satisfied with this chapter, but it's the best I could do. I promise things will pace themselves better in the future. Plus, I have thought of new ways to twist the tale and add some drama ;-) *


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